Category: Cultural anthropology

Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology and is focused on cultural variation. The methodology used in this science is rich, based on participant observation. The anthropologist has to be a lot of time on the site of study because of the need of doing surveys and interviews.

” Since humans acquire culture through the learning processes of enculturation and socialization, people living in different places or different circumstances develop different cultures. Anthropologists have also pointed out that through culture people can adapt to their environment in non-genetic ways, so people living in different environments will often have different cultures. Much of anthropological theory has originated in an appreciation of and interest in the tension between the local (particular cultures) and the global (a universal human nature, or the web of connections between people in distinct places/circumstances).

The rise of cultural anthropology took place within the context of the late 19th century when questions regarding which cultures were “primitive” and which were “civilized” occupied the minds of not only Marx and Freud but many others. Colonialism and its processes increasingly brought European thinkers into direct or indirect contact with “primitive others.” The relative status of various humans, some of whom had modern advanced technologies that included engines and telegraphs, while others lacked anything but face-to-face communication techniques and still lived a Paleolithic lifestyle, was of interest to the first generation of cultural anthropologists.” Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_anthropology

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About 400 years before the birth of Jesus, Jews and Romans started interacting. When hardships due to war in the east became to burdensome many Jews moved to Rome (As well as other parts of Europe).

The Sicarii were led by descendents of Judas of Galilee, who helped foster revolt against direct Roman rule in 6 CE, when they attempted to carry out a census of the Jews under the rule of Roman governor Quirinius in Syria, so that they could tax them. Judas famously proclaimed that the Jews should be ruled by God alone.Sicarii terrorism began as Jewish resistance to Roman rule in the region, which began in 40 BCE. Fifty six years later, in 6 CE, Judea and two other districts were combined and put under the control of Roman rule in what would later be considered greater Syria. Jewish groups began violent resistance to Roman rule around 50 CE, when the Sicarii and other groups started using guerrilla or terrorist tactics. All out war between the Jews and the Romans broke out in 67, when Romans invaded. The war ended in 70 CE, when Roman forces devastated Jerusalem. Masada, Herod’s famous fortress was conquered by siege in 74. http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/… The Roman legions surrounded the city and began to slowly squeeze the life out of the Jewish stronghold. By the year 70, the attackers had breached Jerusalem’s outer walls and began a systematic ransacking of the city. The assault culminated in the burning and destruction of the Temple that served as the center of Judaism. In victory, the Romans slaughtered thousands. Of those sparred from death: thousands more were enslaved and sent to toil in the mines of Egypt, others were dispersed to arenas throughout the Empire to be butchered for the amusement of the public. The Temple’s sacred relics were taken to Rome where they were displayed in celebration of the victory. The rebellion sputtered on for another three years and was finally extinguished in 73 AD with the fall of the various pockets of resistance including the stronghold at Masada. “…the Jews let out a shout of dismay that matched the tragedy.” Our only first-hand account of the Roman assault on the Temple comes from the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius. Josephus was a former leader of the Jewish Revolt who had surrendered to the Romans and had won favor from Vespasian. In gratitude, Josephus took on Vespasian’s family name – Flavius – as his own. We join his account as the Romans fight their way into the inner sanctum of the Temple: “…the rebels shortly after attacked the Romans again, and a clash followed between the guards of the sanctuary and the troops who were putting out the fire inside the inner court; the latter routed the Jews and followed in hot pursuit right up to the Temple itself. Then one of the soldiers, without awaiting any orders and with no dread of so momentous a deed, but urged on by some supernatural force, snatched a blazing piece of wood and, climbing on another soldier’s back, hurled the flaming brand through a low golden window that gave access, on the north side, to the rooms that surrounded the sanctuary. As the flames shot up, the Jews let out a shout of dismay that matched the tragedy; they flocked to the rescue, with no thought of sparing their lives or husbanding their strength; for the sacred structure that they had constantly guarded with such devotion was vanishing before their very eyes.

The history of the Jews in the Roman Empire traces the interaction of Jews and Romans during the period of the Roman Empire (27 BC – AD 476). Their cultures began to overlap in the centuries just before the Christian Era. Jews, as part of the Jewish diaspora, migrated to Rome and Roman Europe from the Land of Israel, Asia Minor, Babylon and Alexandria in response to economic hardship and incessant warfare over the land of Israel between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires. In Rome, Jewish communities enjoyed privileges and thrived economically, becoming a significant part of the Empire’s population (perhaps as much as ten percent).[1]

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Rama or Ramachandra is one of the principal gods of in Hinduism. This god shares its importance with Krishna and Gautama Buddha. Countless myths include Rama in them. In this video, Hinduism culture will overflow.

“Rama (/ˈrɑːmə/; Sanskrit: राम, IAST: Rāma), also known as Ramachandra, is a major deity of Hinduism. He is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, one of his most popular incarnations along with Krishna and Gautama Buddha. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being.

Rama was born to Kaushalya and Dasharatha in Ayodhya, the ruler of the Kingdom of Kosala. His siblings included Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. He married Sita. Though born in a royal family, their life is described in the Hindu texts as one challenged by unexpected changes such as an exile into impoverished and difficult circumstances, ethical questions, and moral dilemmas. Of all their travails, the most notable is the kidnapping of Sita by demon-king Ravana, followed by the determined and epic efforts of Rama and Lakshmana to gain her freedom and destroy the evil Ravana against great odds. The entire life story of Rama, Sita, and their companions allegorically discusses duties, rights and social responsibilities of an individual. It illustrates dharma and dharmic living through model characters.

Rama is especially important to Vaishnavism. He is the central figure of the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, a text historically popular in the South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures. His ancient legends have attracted bhasya (commentaries) and extensive secondary literature and inspired performance arts. Two such texts, for example, are the Adhyatma Ramayana – a spiritual and theological treatise considered foundational by Ramanandi monasteries, and the Ramcharitmanas – a popular treatise that inspires thousands of Ramlila festival performances during autumn every year in India. Rama legends are also found in the texts of Jainism and Buddhism, though he is sometimes called Pauma or Padma in these texts, and their details vary significantly from the Hindu versions.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama

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Hawaiian mythology includes the character of Captain Cook and Pele one of the most powerful Goddess in Hawaii. Goddess Pele controls the lava of volcanoes the same that gives the country its fertile soils but also has the power to destroy everything in its path.

The White Buffalo Calf Woman

The myth takes part in the Great Plains in the United States and part of Canada in the “Buffalo Nation”. The people that belong to it, have a complex religious system. The White Buffalo Calf Woman is a culture bringer.

Watch the video and hear the fantastic story lying beneath this interesting names… 🙂